ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Mar 21, 2019 16:35:16 GMT -5
Thought I'd share a few photos (and maybe a video later) of my new work-in-progress. It's an as-yet-untitled highlands theme course. This will be my third course (after Willow Creek Lake and Westerberg Clearings). Of course, I'd love to get this one on tour, but my main aim is to make it better than my previous two courses. I'm doing a lot of things differently this time. For Westerberg Clearings I wanted quite a clean look, so I started with a flat plot and no autogenerated plants. Here I'm after a more rugged look, so I've started with autogenerated terrain and all plants on max. I'm looking to create more interesting decisions off the tee, so here there will be plenty of split fairways or wide fairways to give a bit of flexibility. And I'm going for more interesting greens too, with some humps and bumps that can either help or hinder. Think it's going OK so far, I've created 11 holes so far and there are a few holes I like and I don't think will need much more work before release. But there are a couple that I think I might scrap completely!
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Post by Celtic Wolf on Mar 21, 2019 18:44:03 GMT -5
Good to see you're trying different methods Dave. I would suggest combining bunker shapes to create unique shapes of bunkers. Or even just use the round brush and drag it around a wee bit for different shapes.
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Mar 22, 2019 4:30:43 GMT -5
Good to see you're trying different methods Dave. I would suggest combining bunker shapes to create unique shapes of bunkers. Or even just use the round brush and drag it around a wee bit for different shapes. All the bunkers have been done using splines. However, I’m trying to keep a consistent look accross the course, so most of the bunkers are of two types: small circular bunkers, and large “spider” bunkers.
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Post by Celtic Wolf on Mar 22, 2019 5:44:40 GMT -5
Good to see you're trying different methods Dave. I would suggest combining bunker shapes to create unique shapes of bunkers. Or even just use the round brush and drag it around a wee bit for different shapes. All the bunkers have been done using splines. However, I’m trying to keep a consistent look accross the course, so most of the bunkers are of two types: small circular bunkers, and large “spider” bunkers. Ignore me I should've noticed the fairway bunkers were all splined, that's what happens when I try to think early in the morning. Yeah it's a good idea to have a consistent look through your course.
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Mar 22, 2019 15:48:30 GMT -5
As promised, I've uploaded a video of the initial 11 holes. Found a couple of things to tweak while recording, so I'll go deal with those now. Then maybe start work on hole 12...
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Post by b101 on Apr 14, 2019 12:23:06 GMT -5
Looks really nice and love some of the wide fairways and clever angles. Will keep following
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Apr 15, 2019 16:33:48 GMT -5
I've added three new holes since I recorded that video, and also solved some of the problems I had with the 2nd hole. The 2nd previously looked like this: The player would have to choose to aim for the fairway either on the left or right of the water, and hit it up to an elevated green. However, I was never really happy with it - the fairway on the right didn't give much advantage over the safer shot to the left, and the whole idea of a double fairway was problematic because the 3rd hole also had a double fairway. Also, I wanted to put some fairway short of the green, but didn't have the space. So I've re-worked it a bit, so it now looks like this: I widened the left fairway short and left, but kept that part elevated, so now there are choices on that fairway between safety/distance/slope of lie. I've added some fairway adjoining the left of the green, as the player could now be coming in from that angle. The fairway on the right is largely unchanged, but with the widening of the fairway on the left (and the moving of the waypoint), I wouldn't expect anyone to go for it. And anyway, I've now added a new hole (no.3 on the scorecard), which is a drivable par 4 that uses that fairway. The other holes I've added are at the end of the course. This is the end of the 17th: It's a short par 4 with no bunkers or water, but is one of the more difficult holes on the course. Driver off the tee (make sure you stay clear of the gully that goes down the right of the fairway) will leave a short wedge or maybe a pitch shot over the gully to a 2-tiered green with a false front. Pin positions on the lower tier are particularly challenging. And this is the 18th: A straight par five where an accurate drive is required to avoid the bunkers and go for the green in 2.
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Post by b101 on Apr 16, 2019 4:31:29 GMT -5
Like the look of the remodelled holes and that second fairway is way better - top work and looking forward to playing it when it's released
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on May 6, 2019 10:24:32 GMT -5
I've now got a full 18 holes laid out and sculpted. The final one to fall into place was the par 4 15th, which is a short par 4 with a large bunker separating the fairway and the green. The fairway splits at the bunker - choosing the left side will give a tricky wedge or pitch shot to a raised green. Choosing short center or long right will leave a full wedge approach, with a better angle and less elevation change coming from the right. However, there are 2 holes I'm not happy with, and I think I'm going to delete and replace entirely. One is the short driveable par 4 10th (previously the 9th - before I added a better driveable par 4 as the 3rd hole). The other is the short uphill par 4 17th, which doesn't really fit with the rest of the course. I have an idea for the 17th, no idea what I'll do with the 10th though.
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Jun 5, 2019 6:57:38 GMT -5
I've now completely replaced the 10th and the 17th (twice), and made a few other tweaks here and there after playtesting.
I've published a beta version: "Ffrog H Beta1". I recommend fast and firm greens & fairways, but it should be perfectly playable in any conditions. If anyone has time to play it and thinks of anything that would make it a better course, please let me know!
I haven't done much planting yet, a few bits here and there on the front 9. That's what I'm going to work on next, along with other asthetics (clubhouse, surrounding landscape, paths etc.).
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Jun 16, 2019 11:08:16 GMT -5
Shameless bump to advertise the beta. It would be particularly useful if someone on PC could play it so i can follow the ghost, but of course any other feedback is also welcome.
In the meantime i’ve been putting some paths in, just using the rough texture. This is the first course where i’ve done paths, and it’s taking longer than i’d guessed. Partly because the course is quite hilly / cliffy, so i’ve been adding steps and fences to keep the virtual golfers safe. I’m sure they’ll appreciate it! It does improve the look though, particularly in this theme where I probably wont use any trees so need something to help make it more visually interesting.
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Post by Riotous on Jun 18, 2019 23:30:17 GMT -5
Will give it a roll and message you
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Jun 19, 2019 9:40:32 GMT -5
Will give it a roll and message you Thanks for giving it a go, and for your very insightful comments, much appreciated! 👍
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Post by Celtic Wolf on Jun 19, 2019 10:59:34 GMT -5
I gave this course a go and I found it plays well, didn't have any glaring problems going round. The fairways and greens were both done well as was the bunkers although I'm not a fan of the oddly shaped bunkers. I think it was the 13th where you have a lot of rocks to the side of the fairway, I'd try and create the rocky look with the terrain and add a few smaller rocks onto it along with some plants to break it up a bit. I noticed a couple of blind approaches as well but all in a good course.
Some of the things I've brought up is just preferences so not to be taken too seriously.
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ffrog
Amateur Golfer
Posts: 247
TGCT Name: Dave Richards
Tour: Challenge Circuit
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Post by ffrog on Jun 19, 2019 11:33:45 GMT -5
I gave this course a go and I found it plays well, didn't have any glaring problems going round. The fairways and greens were both done well as was the bunkers although I'm not a fan of the oddly shaped bunkers. I think it was the 13th where you have a lot of rocks to the side of the fairway, I'd try and create the rocky look with the terrain and add a few smaller rocks onto it along with some plants to break it up a bit. I noticed a couple of blind approaches as well but all in a good course. Some of the things I've brought up is just preferences so not to be taken too seriously. Thanks for the feedback Celtic! Riotous mentioned the rocks on the left of the 13th as well, I’ll definitely try and get them looking better. They were a relatively late addition, I needed something to make the teeshot more interesting. Off the top of my head i can only think of one intentional blind approach shot (left fairway on the 4th), so I’ll do my best to fix any others before publish.
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